KABUL: The Taliban have dismissed a government call for a Ramadan cease-fire in Afghanistan, saying a truce is “not rational” as they ramp up attacks on government forces.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani appealed to the militants to lay down their arms for the Islamic holy month that began Friday, as the country battles the growing coronavirus pandemic.
But the Taliban’s spokesman Suhail Shaheen tweeted late Thursday to lambaste the government’s offer, citing ongoing disagreements over a potential peace process and a delayed prisoner exchange as reasons to keep fighting.
“Asking for cease-fire is not rational and convincing,” wrote Shaheen as he accused the government of putting prisoners’ lives at risk during the outbreak.
Under a landmark US-Taliban deal signed earlier this year, the Afghan government and the insurgents were by now supposed to have concluded a prisoner swap and started talks aimed at bringing about a comprehensive cease-fire.
The latest round of bickering comes after dozens of Afghan security forces personnel were killed in a fresh wave of violence launched by the insurgents this week.
The attacks have mostly been limited to rural areas and small towns. Under the US-Taliban deal, the insurgents have agreed not to attack cities.
American and other foreign forces have pledged to quit Afghanistan by July 2021 provided the Taliban stick to several security guarantees and hold talks with the government.
Ghani has been calling for a lasting cease-fire with the Taliban for years, only to be ignored by the increasingly emboldened insurgents.
The Taliban instead have mocked Ghani’s government, referring to them as “puppets” controlled by foreign powers, and have roundly refused to engage in peace talks as they intensify attacks on Afghan forces.
Taliban reject Afghan cease-fire offer during Ramadan
https://arab.news/wgh47
Taliban reject Afghan cease-fire offer during Ramadan
- Afghan President Ashraf Ghani appealed to the militants to lay down their arms for the Islamic holy month that began Friday
- ‘Asking for cease-fire is not rational and convincing’
Brazil’s Lula urges Trump to treat all countries equally
NEW DELHI: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged Donald Trump on Sunday to treat all countries equally after the US leader imposed a 15 percent tariff on imports following an adverse Supreme Court ruling.
“I want to tell the US President Donald Trump that we don’t want a new Cold War. We don’t want interference in any other country, we want all countries to be treated equally,” Lula told reporters in New Delhi.
The conservative-majority Supreme Court ruled six to three on Friday that a 1977 law Trump has relied on to slap sudden levies on individual countries, upending global trade, “does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.”
Lula said he would not like to react to the Supreme Court decisions of another country, but hoped that Brazil’s relations with the United States “will go back to normalcy” soon.
The veteran leftist leader is expected to travel to Washington next month for a meeting with Trump.
“I am convinced that Brazil-US relation will go back to normalcy after our conversation,” Lula, 80, said, adding that Brazil only wanted to “live in peace, generate jobs, and improve the lives of our people.”
Lula and Trump, 79, stand on polar opposite sides when it comes to issues such as multilateralism, international trade and the fight against climate change.
However, ties between Brazil and the United States appear to be on the mend after months of animosity between Washington and Brasilia.
As a result, Trump’s administration has exempted key Brazilian exports from 40 percent tariffs that had been imposed on the South American country last year.
‘Affinity’
“The world doesn’t need more turbulence, it needs peace,” said Lula, who arrived in India on Wednesday for a summit on artificial intelligence and a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ties between Washington and Brasilia soured in recent months, with Trump angered over the trial and conviction of his ally, the far-right former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro.
Trump imposed sanctions against several top officials, including a Supreme Court judge, to punish Brazil for what he termed a “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in a botched coup bid after his 2022 election loss to Lula.
Lula said that, as the two largest democracies in the Americas, he looked forward to a positive relationship with the United States.
“We are two men of 80 years of age, so we cannot play around with democracy,” he said.
“We have to take this very seriously. We have to shake hands eye-to-eye, person-to-person, and to discuss what is best for the US and Brazil.”
Lula also praised Modi after India and Brazil agreed to boost cooperation on critical minerals and rare earths and signed a raft of other deals on Saturday.
“I have a lot of affinity with Prime Minister Modi,” he said.
Lula will travel to South Korea later on Sunday for meetings with President Lee Jae Myung and to attend a business forum.
